Chairs

I like chairs. I think humans are the only animal species that creates something to sit on. We seek comfort, a place to rest our weary bones, we were rocked as children and rock our children in them. They are made of wood, metal, plastic, stone, and anything else that can be shaped to fit our form. And yet for some reason, it seems like every empty or abandoned house I have photographed in there is at least one chair left behind. They seem to be the last thing removed, and yet they are often the first thing placed in a new home. 

I study them, look at them and never pass up an opportunity to photograph one. I love the way they sag and lean, wear out where people have sat in them. They take on personalities and characteristics. Each is as unique as a fingerprint.

Backless Chair
Rugby, ND

Blue Chimney House Chair - Tillman Crane
A backless chair sits in an empty farmhouse.

This chair was left in a tiny house on the North Dakota plains. The house looked like an original homestead building. I photographed it several years in a row. One year I returned to reshoot it and found a cable release I had left from the year before. It has seen better days, and in its heyday, it was a fancy, comfortable chair. Look at the leather seat, it must have been a comfortable place to rest after a hard day in the fields.

Chair in Shadow
Rolette, ND

A white chair sits in the dying afternoon light

This white chair was in one of the houses that were included in the Abandoned Farms of North Dakota Workshop. Every year it was in a different room, one year downstairs the next upstairs. One year it disappeared. I hope it found a home and was not just taken out and destroyed.

Cathedral Woods Bench
Prouts Neck, Maine

Bench in Cathedral Woods

This bench sits proudly atop a small rise in the woods in Prouts Neck, Maine. When I was photographing the Winslow Homer Studio for the Portland Museum of Art some years ago I had the chance to walk these woods. It was a lovely sunny afternoon in the fall. This bench seems like the perfect place to sit awhile and think about the essential things in life and to just enjoy soaking up the sunlight. 

Italian Chair
Florence, Italy

Museum Docents Chair

Florence is full of art. While touring one of the many museums I saw this beautiful chair. It is where the docent sits while not wandering around the galleries and keeping an eye on the tourists. It spoke to me about the elegance of Florence, and yet it is a folding chair designed to be put away when not in use. How elegant!

tillman

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